1979 (11) TMI 271
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....to as the Taxation Act), is the short question that falls for consideration in this appeal by special leave directed against a judgment, dated April 14, 1969, of the High Court of Mysore. The material facts bearing on the question are as follows : The respondent, M/s. T. V. Sundaram Iyengar & Sons. Pvt. Ltd., whose registered office is in the State of Tamil Nadu, is a dealer in motor vehicles which are manufactured at Bombay. Some of those vehicles are sold in Mysore State, while others are sold outside Mysore State. But those vehicles which are sold outside the State of Mysore in other States pass through its territory under temporary registration number plates issued after receipt of token tax by the Bombay Motor Vehicles Authority. Such....
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....cified in part A of the Schedule shall be levied on all motor vehicles suitable for use on roads, kept in the State of Mysore: Provided that in the case of motor vehicles kept by a dealer in or manufacturer of such vehicles for the purpose of trade, the tax shall only be levied and paid by such dealer or manufacturer on vehicles permitted to be used on roads in the manner prescribed by rules made under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. Explanation.-A motor vehicle of which the certificate of registration is current shall, for the purpose of this Act, be deemed to be a vehicle suitable for use on roads. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub- section (1), taxes at the rates specified in Part B of the Schedule shall be levied on moto....
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....he duration of such 'keeping' may be for a period shorter than a quarter but not exceeding thirty days. In the present case, there is no dispute that the vehicles concerned are capable of use on roads, and in fact, they journey by road through the State. The problem thus resolves itself into the issue : Whether the motor vehicles of the respondent which merely pass through the State of Mysore are 'kept' for the duration of their journey in the State of Mysore within the meaning of Section 3(2) ? In our opinion, the High Court has rightly answered this question in the negative. The word 'kept' has not been defined in the Taxation Act. We have, therefore, to interpret it in its ordinary popular sense, consistently wit....
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....pretation of the word 'kept' will be wholly beyond the ken of the Legislature. In the view we take, we can derive support from two decisions of the English Courts. In Dudley v. Holland,(1) the appellant carried on a garage business adjoining a public road. He had bought a motor car in the course of his business and was offering for sale in the garage showroom. He moved that car into the public road in order to allow the showroom to be rearranged. There was no excise licence in force for the car. It was found there by a police constable. The appellant was charged with unlawfully keeping on a public road a mechanically propelled vehicle for which an excise licence was not in force, contrary to Section 7 of the Vehicles (Excise) Act,....